Tooth decay and dental disease can be caused by bacterial action resulting from the formation of plaque about the teeth and/or the entrapment of food particles between the teeth and interstices therebetween. The removal of plaque and entrapped food particles reduces the incidence of caries, gingivitis, and mouth odors as well as generally improving oral hygiene. Conventional brushing has been found to be inadequate for removing all entrapped food particles and plaque. To supplement brushing, dental flosses and tapes have been recommended. The term "dental floss", as used herein, is defined to include both dental flosses, dental tapes and any similar article.
Dental floss is typically distributed in dispensers that have circular bobbins rotatably mounted therein. Each bobbin is formed of a core that has been wound with dental floss. The tail end of floss from the bobbin is typically threaded first through an eyelet at the top of the dispenser and then through a cut bar that is also positioned at the top of the dispenser. In order to draw a length of floss from the dispenser, a user grasps the tail end of the floss, pulls until the desired length of floss has been drawn from the dispenser, and then cuts the drawn length using the cut bar. As the user pulls the floss from the dispenser, the bobbin in the dispenser rotates, thereby allowing the floss on the bobbin to unwind.
During the manufacturing of dental floss products, automated winding machines are used to wind floss onto empty bobbin cores. These winding machines often function at a high speed and may wind many yards of dental floss each minute. In order for the floss to wind properly onto the empty bobbin cores during the winding process, it is important that the tension of the floss be maintained at a preset level as the floss is wound onto the bobbin cores. Devices for creating tension in strings of moving thread are known in the art. One example of such a tensioner device is manufactured by the Steel Heddle Company.
As mentioned above, during the winding of waxed dental flosses, the waxed floss must pass through a tensioner device at a high rate of speed. However, it was found that the forces exerted on the waxed floss as it passed through known tensioner devices caused wax to be separated from the floss and deposited onto the workings of the tensioner device. The wax build-up on the tensioner device from the floss resulted in frequent malfunctioning of the tensioner device. In addition, the waxed thread exiting the tensioner device was not fully satisfactory, because a portion of the wax that was originally on the floss was stripped by the tensioner device.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an efficient system for maintaining tension in waxed threads or yarns during the winding of such threads and yarns.
It is a further objection of the present invention to provide a system for reducing or eliminating the building-up of wax on tensioner devices used during the winding of waxed threads or yarns.
It is a still further objection of the present invention to provide a system for reducing or eliminating the unwanted stripping of wax from waxed threads or yarns by tensioner devices used during the winding of such waxed threads or yarns.
These and still other objects of the invention will become apparent upon study of the accompanying drawings and description of the invention.